Vietnam Imported More Mining Rigs in 3 Weeks This Month Than All of Last Year

The Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has revealed that in the first 3 weeks of this month almost 8,000 mining rigs were imported into the city. This number exceeds the entire count of mining rigs imported into Vietnam last year.

Nearly 8000 Mining Rigs Imported in 23 Days

The Ho Chi Minh City (HMC) Customs Department has revealed the number of mining rigs imported during the first three weeks of January.

Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, the customs department’s deputy director told the HMC Law Department on January 24 that 7,932 mining rigs were imported into the city between January 1 and 23, Tuoi Tre reported. He added that the total value of these rigs is “nearly $12.3 million…[and] the amount of tax paid to the [city’s] budget is nearly 28 billion dong [~$1.23 million].” Tianphong elaborated:

Currently, the price of bitcoin mining rigs is quite high, from 70 to 80 million [VND]; some places even [sell them for] up to 100 million [VND] per machine.

The publication noted that most mining rigs are imported from China, adding that they cost approximately 20-25 million dong each but were sold for 35-40 million dong each in early 2016. By mid-2017, “the price of mining rigs increased to VND 45-60 million per machine and at present, although the price of bitcoin decreased, the price of mining rigs still increased to VND 80-90 million per machine,” the publication added.

News.Bitcoin.com recently reported that a total of 7,005 known mining rigs were imported in 2017. Most of them, 5,527 rigs, were imported between November and December 21. Only 1,478 rigs were declared entering the country between January 1 and October 31 of last year, according to the HMC Customs Department.

No Regulations Yet

Tuyen explained that mining rig imports and mining operations in the city are “still normal because there are no regulations for the import of such goods,” Tianphong quoted him. Currently, “the State Bank has confirmed that bitcoin and other similar virtual currencies are not legal means of payment in Vietnam” and residents using them as such “will be fined 150-200 million [VND], and may be subject to criminal prosecution from January 1, 2018,” the publication emphasized.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the HMC branch of the State Bank, was quoted saying:

Virtual currency in general, and bitcoin and litecoin in particular, are not currencies and are not legal means of payment under the Vietnamese law.

What do you think of the Vietnamese mining industry growing so quickly? Let us know in the comments section below.